Casually Exchanging Benefits
Afterward, the conversation drifted into trivial chit-chat. Our ongoing online MMORPG that, as usual, had no update this week. Some godforsaken baseball team that got completely swept by the last-place losers. Even the spinach RAM prices that had somehow more than doubled! Not exactly the kind of pillow talk you'd expect from a guy and girl in bed after sex. But then again, Hanjiu and I weren't the type for lovey-dovey sweet nothings either. So I lay there beside him, pulling my exhausted body together.
Actually, that line from earlier—asking him to wipe away the dripping fluids because I was dying of exhaustion—wasn't just me trying to mess with him. A strapping adult guy. Well, he was already above average back when he was just a regular dude, and lately he'd been hitting the gym hard. Anyway, matching his intense sexual stamina with this body of mine was tough all around. Especially today, getting pounded from behind like that—I had to absorb every single shock. Honestly, back when I was a guy, I'd wondered why women complained so much about the exhaustion when it was the men doing all the moving during sex. But now that I'm the one taking it, I totally get it. Ahem.
Anyway, once I'd recovered a bit, I got up from the bed and started my own cleanup routine. My lower abdomen throbbed with every movement—beyond just soreness, straight-up uncomfortable. But I couldn't let on that it hurt, not after moaning and writhing like I was having the time of my life. Keeping a straight face, I scooped up the bath towel that had rolled under the bed and Hanjiu's discarded clothes, then headed to the washing machine.
"You want me to wash the clothes you came in?"
"Yeah. Thanks."
Hanjiu, still just in his underwear, replied absentmindedly while staring at his smartphone. Lounging around half-naked on some random girl's bed in her studio apartment like it was no big deal. What a sight. But... whatever. I wasn't about to nag him for it. The homeowner here wasn't even wearing panties at the moment.
I tossed the laundry into the machine, then went to the closet and pulled out a simple spaghetti-strap camisole and a pair of white panties to slip on. I would've preferred a loose t-shirt in front of Hanjiu, but unfortunately, all my comfy oversized ones were already in the wash. Then I grabbed the short-sleeved tee and shorts he'd left behind last time and chucked them onto the bed.
"You staying over tonight?"
"Yeah, that's the plan."
"You hungry?"
"Nah, skip the food. I'm beat—let's just turn off the lights and crash."
It almost sounded like a long-term couple's banter. Ugh, creepy. I shuddered at the thought, flicked off the lights, and climbed back into bed. The single-sized mattress was plenty spacious for me alone as a girl, but a bit cramped with Hanjiu in it too. Naturally, our bodies ended up touching. It wasn't uncomfortable or anything, though. We weren't some same-sex couple where every little contact mattered anymore. Just to check if it was only me feeling weird, I glanced over—he didn't seem bothered either.
"By the way, Hanjiu. You acted all high and mighty over text, but you ended up doing it four times."
"You kept begging for it. Moaning for me to thrust deeper."
"What? You're the one who always cuts it off cold when you say you're tired."
He burst out laughing at that.
"It's been a while."
"Yeah. Been a minute. Guess that's why I couldn't hold back."
Thinking about it, the week before last was midterms. Last week, I went back home, and... yeah. Hold up. Doing the math like this, the last time we hooked up was... like three weeks ago?
"So you been handling it solo all this time?"
I raised my left hand and shook it up and down suggestively. Even with our two lumps of flesh bouncing under the thin summer blanket now, I'd been a guy once—I knew how male libido worked.
Then a sharp sting hit my forehead.
"Ow!"
"Act like a proper girl for once!"
I glared at him, eyes wide, after he'd flicked my forehead hard.
"Hey, you don't even treat me like a girl to begin with!"
"What do you mean? You were whining it hurt, so I went easy on you."
"Th-that's different!"
"Anyway, no lectures Monday, so I'm sleeping in. Don't wake me."
With that, he shut his eyes, ending the convo. I tugged the shared blanket my way and turned my back to him. I don't have lectures Monday either! Wait. Hold on. Monday?
Sudden realization hit me like a truck. I bolted upright in bed.
"Ah! Shit, we're screwed!"
"I'm at my limit. If you wanna go again, do it yourself."
"No, not sex! Homework!"
"Homework? What assignment?"
"Not school! Shubam... I didn't turn in this week's weekly quests... and next week resets scores!"
What the hell... I'd completely forgotten while getting railed like an animal.
Hanj iu, who'd cracked one eye open at my wail, just rolled over and blocked me out.
"C'mon, Jiwoo-yaa!"
I slipped my hand slyly onto the waist of the guy lying on his side. Pressing my chest blobs hard against his broad, solid back, I shifted into full aegyo gear.
"No."
"Yesss. We're both wiped right now, so not now. How 'bout we hit the PC cafe later at dawn and knock out the quests together?"
"Too annoying. Drop the baby voice, it's gross."
"Aww, c'mon."
If I'd known it'd come to this, I should've gone with the non-padded bra. He wouldn't even care about no-bra pokies anyway. But my all-out charm offensive must've worked a little—he turned his head to meet my eyes.
"I already did my quests. No chars left to run 'em on."
"Alt. Side char. Even a total noob one. Pleeease? Your big sis'll carry you."
Even to my own ears, that sugary whine was so cute it made me wanna die. But after pondering a sec, Hanjiu ruthlessly shoved my hand off his waist.
"Ugh, forget it! Quit clinging, and stop rubbing those tits on me!"
"Waaah. Let's do it, PC cafe time! I'll cover the fee and breakfast toooo!"
~
Thus, at 4 a.m. on Monday. The streets were dead—no sign of another soul. Hanjiu and I walked side by side down that dark, deserted dawn road. Yup. In the end, the winner was me, Song Yujeong. After last night, rubbing my chest against his wide, sturdy back for ages, begging and pleading—I'd finally wrangled a promise to do the quests together. Of course, I'd have to pay for this karma someday. Come to think of it, my karma stack was piling up pretty nicely too. Just last night, I'd nagged him into it even though he didn't wanna.
Hanj iu walking beside me hadn't said a word since leaving the officetel. The silence felt awkward. I glanced up at his face—his half-lidded eyes were full of sleep.
"Hey, thanks."
Unable to stand the vibe, I nudged his waist with my elbow.
"Song Yujeong, you better watch out. I'm gonna make you pay for this next time."
At least he answered, so he wasn't that mad.
Five minutes later, we reached our usual PC cafe by the back gate. Ignoring the bleary-eyed clerk at the counter, we headed to the quieter non-smoking section. Dodging chairs in disarray and scattered drink cans, we snagged a decent spot.
"Couldn't we just do this from home? Why drag me to the PC cafe?"
"Told you. I'll buy breakfast after. Not many places open near home this early."
"Feeling guilty, huh?"
I flashed a sheepish grin at his grumbling.
"If you're backed up on quests this bad, doesn't that mean you've lost all love for the game?"
Ah... Well, weekdays had group project presentations. Saturday was the after-party for that meeting... So yeah, I meant to do them yesterday. But after firing up the PC and browsing stat sites for a bit... that banner ad, of all things! No way I could admit that seeing a porn site ad flipped my switch and I grabbed the vibrator—that'd be suicidal wording.
"Been busy this week."
I mumbled something vague about assignments to shut down any digging, then ordered two iced Americanos as a peace offering.
We logged in and scrambled to form a party, but at 4 a.m. Monday—hardcore gamers would've finished weekly resets already, and casuals wouldn't be online. In the end, no luck, so just Hanjiu and me grinding quests duo. Active raids were out of the question. We settled for last season's party dungeons we could brute-force with specs.
While waiting for dungeon load screens and slurping the PC cafe's signature boricha Americano, a random thought hit. Instead of speaking, I typed into party chat to the guy next door.
A sharp pain exploded in my head right after hitting enter.
"Ow! Why'd you hit me?!"
"Song Yujeong, you need to get smacked sometimes."
"Why? It's not wrong."
"You this kinda character around your friends too?"
"No way! Among friends, I'm a total goddess, fairy vibe."
"Crazy bitch. Quit bullshitting and spin up the cooltime already!"
~
Even though it was raid-tier 4-man content, two top-spec veterans grinding together got us through somehow. Rewards were halved, but at least I avoided becoming a weekly dropout. Sure, with friends' outfits getting skimpier as summer loomed, falling a week behind wouldn't kill me. But hey, I still had some love left for the game.
We finished quests with Hanjiu and left the PC cafe around 6:10.
"You said breakfast's on you?"
"Yup. You've worked hard these past couple days, Jiwoo. Big sis is treating special today!"
"Big talk for just breakfast."
He chuckled and stretched big.
Looks like the sleepiness had worn off.
"So, Hanjiu, whatcha wanna eat?"
"What else is open at this hour?"
True that. Our feet naturally led us to the 24-hour hangover soup joint. Unlike the PC cafe, this place near the back gate entrance had plenty of red-faced folks face-deep in stone pot bowls.
Pondering seats, Hanjiu—who always ran hot—dragged me to the table in front of the big fan.
Honestly, I'm a bit chilly right now...
"I'll have the intestine rice soup special."
He picked without even glancing at the menu.
"Replenishing protein after draining it all last night?"
He shot me a look like I'd lost my mind.
"What! It's not like we can't talk guy stuff!"
"Song Yujeong. Who's the other guy at this table besides me?"
I breezily ignored him and eyed the menu board above the kitchen.
"Hmm... since you put your protein inside me, I should go clean and light!"
Not really, since we used a condom. But whatever.
"Please, no sex talk in public?"
Teasing him like this was kinda fun.
"Congee hangover soup for me."
"Intestines are killer here."
"Smells bad."
Last group outing, male-era memories made me try it—total nope. The thought made me shiver involuntarily, and Hanjiu snorted from across the table.
"Wow, Song Yujeong. Look at you acting all prissy 'cause you're a girl now."
No comeback came to mind, so I stuck out my tongue and raised a hand to the exhausted clerk.
"One intestine special and one regular congee, please!"
After ordering, Hanjiu neatly set out spoons and chopsticks on the tissue paper. I poured water into our glasses and tossed out a dumb joke.
"This is kinda funny."
"What is?"
"Like I said earlier, we really look like a couple who just fucked and came out."
He glared daggers at me.
Something inside me squirmed at that expression.
"Whyy! You loved it last night too. Thrusting so deep insi—ow!"
Sudden chopstick to the forehead.
"One more strike and you're out. This is the back gate. What if someone hears?"
"Then we own up to it proudly."
"Say what? That we're dating?"
I shook my head.
"You nuts? Why would I date you? Just say we're sex partners—ow!"
"Once you're a girl, fix that mouth of yours. Sounds like I'm talking to a horny middle-schooler."
"I don't talk like this normally. Just messing with you."
"Yeah, I figured."
He sighed softly and poured himself water.
"Haa... how'd I end up tangled with a crazy bitch like you."
"Harsh. Like I said last night, with looks like this! Huh? This body! Be grateful a girl like me is offering."
"Song Yujeong, I remember your old face crystal clear."
"Can't you just forget about that?"